New World
by Matt Snow
Summary: "This world is boring. Repeating the same things over and over... What's the point of living like that?" These are the thoughts of a normal young man. But what will he do when he is thrust into a new world, only to find it is a cage?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**_

_God I'm bored…Nothing like school to make you fall asleep in the morning… _There were still 3 hours of school left and today was the day Sword art online came out. I had already preordered it and I was told it would arrive before I left school, but knowing it was at my house waiting for me made the waiting worse.

"Kuroh Shirogane, wake up!"

"Y-Yes Sensei." I said caught off guard by the sudden scream

_God I can't wait to get out of here. _The teacher scrolled on and on about some history lesson we should all be paying attention to but I couldn't concentrate.

_Why can't this world be interesting? Doing the same things over and over again? I've been doing this for 17 years and I'm fed up with it. What's the point? Our world should be interesting, an adventure waiting to happen. _This was the reasoning that made me want to play SAO, a game where you enter another world using a device known as a Nerve-Gear. I had ordered it the moment it was possible, and it was supposed to arrive today, but knowing my ticket to a new world was waiting in my house made the waiting worse.

"RING!" The bell finally rang.

_Finally.__.. Just a sprint home and I'll be exploring Aincrad._

I lived next to my school so I was home in a flash.

"Hi Mom!" I yelled as I ran into the house, I picked up the package and ran up the stairs and into my room. I opened it up and plugged it into my computer. The Nerve-Gear was almost like a bicycle helmet, except it had a black screen that covered your eyes and there were some lights in the side. I put it on and waited for my new adventure to begin.

"Link Start!"

With that the Nerve Gear activated and I saw the logo of SAO. I made my character, "Kuroh", yes I am the most original person ever, now shut up. I finished making him look like me, brown hair, green eyes, the works, and suddenly I'm standing in the middle of a square, with hundreds of lights popping into existence and leaving players behind.

A message pops up in front of me and says **[Welcome to Aincrad, you are now in the Town of Beginnings. Would you like to view the tutorial?]** another window opens in front of me, **[YES / NO]**. I hit **[NO]**, deciding to wing it, but not before checking my stats and items.

According to the screen I had the [Small Sword] and the [Beginner Armour] set on, and my stats were 5 [Str] , [Dex] and [Vit].

Instead of finding an opponent or a monster however, I see an enormous field before me. There was a forest off to the side, and a bunch of pieces of land were suspended in the air, connected to the ground only by a small piece of rock that made the… cliff? I don't even know what to call that.

_This really is just like a fantasy world;_ I thought almost in disbelief. _ I would never find something like this in real life._

I turn around, expecting to see more wonders and I see a boar, looking more closely, it had a tag saying [Blue Boar] above it; I guess it was its name. I draw my blade run towards it ready to claim my first victory in this world. I slash at it, leaving behind a red gash, knocking it down and taking out a fifth of its life.

The [Blue Boar] gets back up and suddenly its tusks start to glow. I realize I have no idea how to block; I try to dodge by jumping to the side ... and spectacularly end up on the ground.

"Why you little..." I get up and charge the [Blue Boar] doing a bit more damage but once again it charges and I find myself on the floor for the second time in 60 seconds. Finally losing my cool, I jump towards the [Blue Boar] with my sword held high when the blade starts to glow green.

"Huh?" My body moves be it self, slashing the boar in two and leaving a red gash on its neck. The boar explodes into little shards and a Message appeared.

**[EXP: 10/100 Col: 350]**

"..." I finally realized what the message meant.

"Yeah!" I cry letting myself go, I had slain my first monster in SAO, now if only I knew how to make my sword glow again... I was pretty sure I had just used a [Sword Skill], this game used them instead of magic but I didn't know how to activate them, I was so exited I forgot to read the guide-book before going out of the city. I decide to wing it, picking a fight with another boar and seeing if I can activate it again.

I fare better this time, already used to the boars' attacks and I manage to defeat it without activating a [Sword Skill]. I look around and seeing no monsters, I decide to sit and read the guide.

"Uhhh...get into position...wait for power to build up...and release... [Sword Skills] are in the skills menu. Got it!" I opened my menu and look at what skills I had.

[Slant], a fast forward slash, and [Strike], a strong overhead swing. From the description it looks like I just used [Strike], I must have accidentally activated it when I jumped towards the boar.

I search for a new [Blue Boar], and this time I use [Strike] to finish it off in one hit.

**[EXP: 30/100 Col: 450]**

_ I did it! I need to find more enemies and do that again._

I run around looking for another boar, and I see the 2, drinking water at the river, I charge one of them with [Strike] killing it, and wait for the other [Blue Boar] to charge. When it does I successfully manage to dodge it and I activate the skill [Slant] as the [Blue Boar] recovers from it charge. My blade starts to glow blue and I feel my body moving on its own again.

"Hya!" I scream as I fly straight into the boar sword first, crossing him and leaving another red gash, this time from his head to his hind. He stands there for a few seconds, until he explodes like the other two.

_I did it, I beat him, I feel so exhilarated. So this is what it feels to live in an interesting world._

I look for more [Blue Boars] to hunt, taking them out one by one, some with [Sword Skills], others with my own ability. Before I know it it's close to 7:00 in the real world and I'm lying on the ground after taking out the last boar. Suddenly a message shows up.

**[EXP100/100 Col: 1250]**

**[LEVEL UP]**

**[Please select a new Skill]**

A menu appears in front of me and it shows an entire list of skills, which were separated into [Combat Skills], [Support Skills] and [Production Skills]. I already had [One-Handed Swords], the basic [Combat Skill], and from what I read in the guide-book if you level up this skill you get more weapon options later which could be useful so that was staying.

For my second skill I chose [Enemy Scanning]. If I can find more enemies I can level up more, plus it looks like it works to find players and items too.

I look up from my menu and see the sun is setting.

"Ahh! I spent the whole day in the game... My parents are going to kill me..." I move my hand to open the menu when suddenly I'm back at the square of the [Town of Beginnings]. More and more people start to appear, in the same white flash they did when I logged on.

They're all talking and many look nervous as if we were all in trouble.

_What's going on?_

I pick the closest player, a skinny black-haired guy talking to a tall red-haired man, and decide to go ask him.

"Hey what's going on?"

"The logout button is missing. It looks like there's a bug in the system." I fo wait for his to say psych or something. He never does.

"Wait really?" I open up my menu and he was right, the logout button was gone.

_I can't be stuck here! We all live in the real world, not this made up one!_

The red-haired guy starts to talk "We just realized this when we were transported back here."

Suddenly the game goes into a red tone and a message appears.

**[System Announcement] [System Announcement]**

_Oh thank god... _

A red cloaked figure, taller than any of us, descends from the skies and stops floating above the city. The message sent by the system was gone and the figure started to speak.

**[Players, I welcome you to my world]...**

* * *

**A/N:** Well there you go, I hope you liked it, don't really know if it came out since I'm not much of a writer, please review and critique but don't flame please. This is the first story I've written outside of school and I probably will write more if I have the time (I probably will). Oh if I keep writing my story will probably be AU, seeing as I'm putting a new character in and I hate it when a new character is introduced but nothing changes. Also the skills I'll be using for this fic (sans unique skills) are the ones made by WhizkidHV for his story "An Empty Life: Hollow Desires", so thanks to him, go read his fic it is IMO the best out there at the moment (Prince of Swords second best). Uhh I might update alot in a short period or I might take a while to get the next chapter up. All depends on school.

Thanks for reading ;).

P.S.: This has no affiliation to Kosmos00 "A New World", kinda just noticed they had almost the same title :P.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

**[...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players—I wish you luck.]**

With that last sentence the phantom took his leave, giving us time to process what he had just said.

No one moved.

The plaza was frozen in time. Everyone staring at the spot where the red cloaked phantom had been hoping something would show up again or that the system would announce that it had all been a joke. Nothing happened.

There was silence and no one could, or was willing to believe what we had just been told was true. Slowly we processed what we had been told and then…it hit us…

"It's a joke right...? The hell is this? It's a joke…right!?"

"Stop kidding around! Let me out! Let me out of here!"

"No! You can't! I've got to meet someone soon!"

"I don't like this! I'm gonna go home! I want to go home!"

The plaza roared with screams, each one crying that this was a lie, that they be sent back home. No one answered.

I was quiet; I had been silenced by my disbelief.

_This can't be true… it can't._

Then one shout broke my inner silence.

"KLEIN!" The black haired boy shouted, apparently immune to the shocking news we had just received.

"Huh?" The red haired man, Klein I guessed from what his friend called him, was just as shocked as the rest of us were. I couldn't believe the black haired boy had the resolve to stay calm.

"Follow me." The boy turned and signaled to the ally behind the plaza that led out to the field. The 2 ran from the crowd, looking different from what they did earlier… Why is that? Oh the mirror, right… I hadn't changed much since I made my avatar to look like me. The rest had changed dramatically, some even switched genders.

The crowed roared and roared, no one apparently accepting the fact we were trapped. After a while some of the players started to drift towards the edge. Once they thought they were out of the crowd's line of sight, they ran, most sprinted towards the field, the same direction Kirito and Klein went off too.

I just stood there, paralyzed. _It can't be…_

* * *

After a while, or maybe not time at all, the crowed had dispersed, forming smaller groups who all reacting differently to the situation. One had decided to wait, part of them hoping that the outside world would rescue them and the others that this was all lie. Another group had decided to go explore the field, forming parties and venturing outside the city. Around the same time everyone dispersed, Klein came back from the same direction he had gone.

_Where's the black haired one?_

Suddenly I saw him coming towards me.

"Hey! You, what's your name?"

"Kuroh... you're Klein, right?"

"Yeah, listen, my friend ran off to the next village, he says we should take advantage of the time we have to move up to newer areas before others do. The next village is south according to him, spread the word if you can and go that way."

_So that's what the others were running off to._

"Thanks, I'll do that…" After that Klein ran off, I watched for a minute and I saw him reach some friends of his. Then I ran. Towards that village at first, but then I saw the field I had been in before all this had happened.

_It looks…different. Changed, all that wonder and excitement I felt when I first saw it is gone… _I snapped.

_We cannot be stuck here… This is not the real world… All that shit Kayaba said must be a lie…_ _Fine if this world was made to kill us then I'll let it. And when I die here only to wake up in the real world, I'll have proven Kayaba wrong!_ And with that, I threw myself into the field.

I searched for every monster I could find, first I took out all of those pathetic boars, I threw myself at them with such anger the never even touched me. [Slant], [Strike], [Slant], I repeated these words like a prayer in my head. Left, right, dodge, slash was the only other thing I could process at that moment.

_Left, right, slash, [Slant]!_

During my onslaught I faintly noticed that messages from the system, probably warnings I had leveled up, were appearing in front of me. I ignored them, who cared if I had gone up a level or gain X amount of EXP and Col.

_Who cares? _I would just die and lose all those points sooner or later.

I also noticed some of the other players staring at me. I was attracting a lot of attention, they all thought this was a death game, it made they view me as an idiot. To them I was basically throwing my life away. I moved on further, where none of them could find me.

I made it to a new area, the edge of a forest. It was probably the same forest that I had seen when I was back in the field. I ran in hoping to find more enemies, and I did. A [Wolf] jumped out of the shrubs. It scared me so much it almost made me turn around and run back to the [Town of Beginnings], but my ride wouldn't let me. That first fight was a mess, I'm pretty sure you've never had a wolf charging at you but it isn't pretty. Unlike the boars I had no idea how this [Wolf] fought.

The first thing that it did was come at, trying to bite my leg off but a hit from my sword sent him flying back. He began to circle me, which somehow made him more menacing. I decided it was now or never, the wolf was on the defensive and I wouldn't get a better chance. I got into position for the skill [Strike]. I lifted my sword and placed it over my head. I prepared to jump forward slay the beast... My blade started to glow, emitting a green light. I attacked.

My blade cut right through the wolf but not before it howled at the night sky, for what I don't know but suddenly more and more wolves where showing up.

_Damnit… It had a pack… Well, looks like I get the end I wanted...right? _

The circled me, all of them staring as if I were there next meal. Suddenly I felt a sharp blow to my back, and when I turned I could see the red gashes the wolf had left, whichever it was it had already returned to its position. I waited; I charged a [Strike] skill, waiting for any wolf to make a move that took it out of the circle. Then…

"Hya!" I turned and unleashed my skill, chopping the [Wolf] that was going for my throat in two. The first [Wolf] was down but now the others were charging to strike me before the lag caused by my skill ended. One got close enough to do some damage before I recovered and my blade made short work of him. I looked up, there were three wolves left. I wouldn't be able to use my skills until there was only one left, otherwise the wolves would all come and murder me. Again I waited and this time two wolves leapt up to get me, one went for my neck and the other went for my throat.

I jumped to the right, and the two wolves attacked each other, then I stuck. I slashed my sword down on both, one exploded on impact but the other, the one who had gone for my throat, was still alive. I jumped him, stabbing my sword through his back. He exploded just like the rest. I looked back up at the last [Wolf] but then I noticed this one was different. It was bigger, wilder. I looked up at its cursor and saw it was different, it was a [Dire-Wolf], the leader of the pack.

I charged it but it just leapt to the side. Then it charged me. I could see why it was the leader of the pack, it was faster and I'm guessing stronger, than the rest of the normal wolves. It grazed me, taking out most of the little Hp I had left.

I wouldn't let the game take me so easily though; I wouldn't admit it if you asked me, but I was still afraid of dying, and Kayaba's words still had some effect on me. If I really wanted to prove Kayaba wrong I guess I would have thrown myself off the ledge of this world. At least this way I had a chance of surviving.

If the [Dire-Wolf] was to fast to attack head on, then I would just wait for it to attack me and then counter. This might work or it might get me killed, but it was one or the other. The [Dire-Wolf] appeared tired of waiting for me to strike. It was growling and getting ready to pounce.

_Now or never..._

The wolf leapt, going for my neck and my life, but before it was even halfway towards me my sword was glowing with the faint like a [Sword Skill]. I dodged to the side and in the split second the wolf was frozen in place I turned to face it.

The wolf lagged, and before it could recover my body, aided by the system, was already moving too fast for it to follow; In that split second I flashed by it, leaving a red gash across its side. I turned just in time before the lag kicked in.

…_Damnit…_ There was still a shard of color left in the [Dire-Wolf]s Hp bar. It had taken its final chance and it had started charging this way, this time its claws were glowing white, it was going for the kill once again and I had no way to stop it. I tried to dodge but the lag wouldn't let me, I was frozen in place and about to die.

_Uhhh I have such bad luck… or good luck depending on how you look at it…_

The wolf jumped in front of me ready to go for the kill, and I closed my eyes accepting my fate. I never felt a thing. I opened my eyes slowly and saw the wolf was frozen in front of me. It started to waver until it exploded like someone had defeated it and sure enough behind the shards of what once was the [Dire-Wolf], was Klein's friend. He came up, I thought to ask if I was Ok, instead he punched me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I saw how you charged your way into those wolves, were you trying to lose your life?!"

_Maybe… I think I was… _He sounded so outraged, like I was about to throw the life of someone else.

"Well guess what you idiot, in case you didn't notice we're stuck in this world and the only way out is to fight up to the hundredth floor. This is our new world and if you want to go back so you're willing to die, then at least try to put some that effort into clearing the game!"

_Wait… a new world. Wasn't that what I wanted? A place to explore and have adventures? Wasn't that what I thought the first time I saw the game?_

I looked up, and I saw the world again. I saw it like I had the first time I came to this field, a place of wonder. Sadly the prison it had now become still loomed over the horizon but now it wasn't the only thing I saw.

"Thank you." I say to this stranger that just risked his life to save me. "My name is Kuroh. Kirito, right?" I hadn't been officially introduced.

"That's right, who told you?"

"Klein, he actually told me to follow you. Said I'd better get going before everyone realized they had to start clearing the game." Kirito's face went from sadness, to relief, to laughter.

"Oh Klein you idiot… well come on. From the health I can see you'll never make it back to the [Town of Beginnings]." I looked at my health and he was right, I was already in the red zone.

"Then were am I supposed to go?" I can't believe this idiot move might actually kill me…

"Well first drink this." He said as he passed me a red potion. I drank it my health slowly started to regenerate.

"Now follow me, the next village is right around the corner, you came pretty close to it too. If you hadn't run into that wolf pack you would already have been there."

When we made it to the Village, according to Kirito its name was [Horunka], my savior showed me to the town inn. Before he left he handed out some advice.

"Stay in the area and look around the town for quests and items. Visit the armory too; your sword looks pretty beat up."

"Thanks Kirito, see ya." With that he left the village and I was left on my own again. I wandered the town for a while until a message popped up.

**[EXP 10/400 Col: 5250]**

**[Current Level 3]**

**[Points to spend: 6]**

I stared at the menu in disbelief, I had gone up another level, and gained 5000 Col. The points thing, made no sense to me but when I clicked on them a different menu opened up.

**[ - Vit - 7 ]**

**[ - Str - 5 ]**

**[ - Dex - 5 ]**

_Ohhh so this is how I increase my stats, that's odd my [Vit] stat is way higher then it was yesterday. _I checked the manual about leveling up and it said that every level you go up you get 3 stat points and your [Vit] automatically goes up 1. I thought for a while about how I had been fighting on the way here, what I normally did was dodge and counter while my foe was lagging, so I needed [Dex]. I also decided I wouldn't put much into [Vit] since it leveled up on its own. I eventually decided to go for a [Dex]-[Str] build, in other words I would almost never increase [Vit.] I put 2 into [Str] and 4 into [Dex].

After going through all of my stats, I decided to go to sleep, ending the first day I spent in Aincrad.

* * *

The next day I awoke alone in the inn. I remembered everything about yesterday, how I had thrown myself into the field, how I would've died if Kirito hadn't shown up. I remembered the advice Kirito gave me,

"_Stay in the area and look for quests. You should also visit the armory; your sword looks pretty beat up."_ He said something like that. I decided that if I was stuck here I would explore the world, I wouldn't focus solely on clearing it like the others.

I took a stroll to look around town before I went to the armory though, it really was a simple place, the houses were made out of wood, there wasn't anything steel or remotely like the modern world, you could really think you were in a fantasy world here.

After my walk I coincidently ended right in front of the armory, it was easily the biggest building in the village and to its side was a small area for cutting wood. I looked around and saw that behind the house there was a furnace so I guess this place must also have a blacksmith.

When I opened the front door a bell chimed, and the attendant, an old man sitting behind the counter polishing a long sword, got up and came over to greet me.

"Hello, and welcome to the Horunka Armory! What is it you wish for, a sword? A shield? Some armor to venture out into the field? We carry it all." The old man seemed to be a cheerful NPC, at least when I seemed interested in buying…

"Yes I was wondering if you could repair my sword, unless you sell any sword that is better than this one. Also I would be thankful for any kind of light armor." I should at least be polite, and besides, acting like this is real helped keep my mind from what happened yesterday.

"If you want light armor your best bet would be a long coat or a jacket. And as for swords we offer 3 services, you could buy a new [Bronze Sword] but that would have less durability and you would need to buy a new one soon, you could also repair your sword or if you have the time and the Col I could forge you a brand new sword." I considered my options, and I decided to go for the forged sword, and I'd use the money I had left to buy some armor.

"How much Col does a forged sword cost?" Once he heard this the old man seem to light up with joy.

"Well depends on the materials I used and if you got them or if I went, but my best would be 4000 Col if you go get the materials and 6000 if you request I go get them." I only had 5000 Col but I wanted the best sword I could get so…

"I'll go get the materials, were could I find them?"

"Go into the woods and search for the leader of the wolf monsters, the [Alpha Wolf]. It'll be bigger than the rest, stronger too, but if you beat it, it'll drop an item called [Alpha Wolf Tooth] and another called [Alpha Wolf Claw], bring me that and I'll forge your sword."

_Hmm, if I venture into the woods I'll have to fight more enemies and I'll still need a sword to fight that [Alpha Wolf]. _I checked my swords durability and I estimated how much I would need. _Good, with this I'll be Ok, unless I run into every monster in the forest._ I would need a defense boost if I was going to take on the [Alpha Wolf], so I looked at the coat and jacket the cleric had offered. The jacket gave a bigger boost in defense and looked pretty badass, but it was out of my price range so I had to go with the coat.

"I'll take 1 [Leather Long-coat] and I'll be back with the materials for my sword."

"Thanks for the stopping by." As I left the shop a message showed up in the right hand corner.

**[Quest Accepted: Defeat Alpha Wolf] **

* * *

I left [Horunka] at noon, and entered the forest in search of the [Alpha Wolf]. Since it was the leader of the [Wolf] monsters, I guessed that if I followed them I would find their leader faster than if I just wandered around the forest. I had wandered for about an hour, I had encountered other enemies, a weird plant like thing that scared the crap out of me. It used it's vines to attack and sometimes it spit out this weird stuff that looked like acid, once I got over the shock though it was pretty easy to take out, all I had to do was go for its mouth. Another bug was a huge beetle, the flying and its impossible high defense were a pain, but it couldn't really hit me so I didn't have much trouble. Then I remembered my [Enemy Scanning] skill. Feeling like an idiot I activated it and I found my first wolf tracks, and my first wolf.

_Uhh how did I take on a pack of these yesterday?_ This one had to be bigger than the ones I fought yesterday, I almost ran away again at the sight of it. When It charged me though I remembered everything about the fight yesterday, and I dodged, almost from memory, to the side at the same time I activated [Strike]. The wolf fell in one blow, and then my [Enemy Scanning] picked up a whole pack of wolves, there were… 6 of them. They were coming in fast and I wouldn't be able to get away. I remembered the fight from yesterday.

…_yeah I'd rather not go through that again_ I thought. I decided if I was going to have to fight the pack then I should at the very least try to sneak up on them. I saw that they were coming straight towards me so I circled around and got behind them. I chased after them, and thanks to my recently leveled up [Dex] I managed to catch up. I waited till their backs were all turned and I then I stormed them.

I stabbed the first [Wolf] I saw, taking its life in one blow, and then once my blade free, I activated [Slant], taking the life of 2 wolves at the same time. My attack was so fast that they couldn't even take advantage of lag that hit me after the skill. There were 3 wolves left once I turned and I was ready and much more prepared to take them on then yesterday. The first 2 charged at me, but I was ready and waiting for their attack.

The first of the pair tried to take me out from the front, but I managed to jump back, out of the attack and the range of the [Wolf]. The second was waiting for me to dodge and had circled around. I but up my sword and managed to put my sword him at the same time he clawed at me, leaving me with a slight wound. The [Wolf] was caught on my blade for a few seconds before it exploded like all the things that died in this world. The first wolf however wasn't done and it threw itself at me; I didn't have enough time to dodge though so I blocked with the only thing I had, my other arm.

"You like that you bastard? Hu?!" The wolf was snaking on my arm, and my life, I was taking my sword and taking its head off. I should have paid more attention during that fight though. I had forgotten there were 3 wolves left. A howl pierced the quiet that had formed after I had slain the 2 monsters.

I looked back at the lone wolf that was left… but it wasn't alone anymore. Behind it stood a monster, a wolf a least my size, its fur was darker than the others and its eyes were glowing blue.

_Well… I found the [Alpha Wolf]… _I took a moment to curse my luck, before I got ready for battle against the leader of the wolves. Both wolves howled as they saw me ready my stance.

The lone wolf was easy. I took it out in one hit, using [Strike] to get it out of the way. Then the Alpha charged. The old man was right. It was stronger than any of the normal wolves. It charged at me so fast I barely had time to jump out of the way, it leapt back at me almost immediately, I had to use my sword to block its attack. Again I was forced back and this time the Alpha waited. I knew that if I used a [Sword Skill] I would die due to the lag, but if I just waited there would be no way I could take the thing out. I decided to wait, leaving the wolf and I to circle each other.

The wolf tensed and I knew what was coming, when it charged I did the same. It clearly wasn't expecting that, I ran headfirst into its attack, dodging at the last second and striking at the last second, slashing at its neck. The Alpha however wasn't done and even though I knew the second blow was coming I couldn't dodge it completely. Its claw grazed my shoulder, taking out a good chunk of my Hp and leaving me in the yellow zone. It however wasn't completely well either. My blow to its neck had taken out at least a fifth of its Hp.

We raged on, I struck at it whenever I could but every chance I took he gave me another blow. After a while I was down into the red zone, the [Alpha Wolf] wasn't looking so hot either though. It had red scars all over its body and its health bar was about as low as mine. I had an ace up my sleeve though, I knew if I used a [Sword Skill] I would die because of the lag… but if I killed him with it and didn't get hit during the skill I would win. I prepared my final blow; [Slant] would be more useful here, dash next to wolf slashing at its side would give me better odds than slamming my blade into it with [Strike].

The [Alpha Wolf] apparently had the same idea. It was crouching, ready to strike. I readied my [Sword Skill], my blade staring to shine blue. I knew I had to strike just as the Alpha was about to reach me. We were both still for a minute and then…

The [Alpha Wolf] leapt, its claws gleaming and I knew that if this didn't work, I was dead. I waited, the few seconds that passed felt an hour, the wolf was 4 feet away…3… 2...

"Hya!" I released the power that was kept in my sword, and once again I felt my body move faster than I could ever move on my own. I crossed the wolf this time barely dodging its attack. Once again I turned before the lag kicked in, praying this would end differently than the fight yesterday.

The [Alpha Wolf] was frozen in place, then it shivered and for a second I feared it would turn and come to kill me. It didn't, instead it exploded into a thousand little shards leaving behind a huge tooth and several claws as big as my hand. A message popped up in front of me.

**[Quest Updated: Return to Armory]**

**[EXP: 200/500 Col:6650]**

**[Level Up]**

**[Current Level 5]**

**[Skill Points 3]**

_Ohh the irony… I come to get the materials for my sword and with the money I gain I can buy them...wait, I beat him… I beat him!_

"I beat him!" I beat the [Alpha Wolf], The King of the forest. Then a new message showed up.

**[Weapon at Risk]**

_Apparently not a moment too soon… _

* * *

The walk out of the forest was simple enough, no monster bothered me, I guess taking out their king made them afraid of me. I reached the village at sunset, just in time to make it to the armory and finish the quest.

"Welcome back. How did it go?" The old man greeted me as I came into the shop, just as kindly as he had the first time I walked in.

"Good, I got the materials you needed for my sword." I handed over the [Alpha Wolf Claw]s and the [Alpha Wolf Tooth]. I also handed over the 4000 Col as payment.

"Ah thank you I'll now forge your sword, follow me." The old man led me to a back door that led straight to the forge I had seen in the back. I had never seen forging in real life, but given the games level of detail, I assumed that what the man would do something at least remotely similar to what would happen in real life.

When we arrived outside he made a fire in the old furnace I had seen and then he a lump of grey metal, I assumed it was common steel, and threw it into the furnace. While the metal was heating up he took the materials I gave him and ground them to a fine powder. When he was done he threw the powder into the furnace; the flames roared and the metal started to change color, becoming paler, almost white. After a few more seconds, he took out some tongs and grabbed the piece of burning steal. He placed the steel on an anvil and used his hammer to hit it; Each time the hammer struck the metal a clear note went through the night, and the metal shined brighter, taking a shape more similar to the sword. Eventually a figure resembling a hilt appeared, and in the final hit the light disappeared, revealing the sword.

It was beautiful; the blade itself was pale white, the color of the moon. The hilt was pitch black as if it was the night sky, but the cross guard was the head of a wolf, and it was shaped as though the blade came from its maw.

"T-thank you …" I didn't know what else to say, this sword was perfect.

"Don't worry young man, many have doubted my skill with this hammer but I can still forge a blade it seems. This one is called [Dacian Blade]; it carries all the strength of that [Alpha Wolf] you slew." The old man passed me the blade, it was light, but I knew it wouldn't break easily.

"Thank you. You've done so much for me, I hope I can repay you someday." This wasn't just an act; I was actually touched by what this old man had done for me.

"No need for thanks boy, you gave me a chance to smith again and that all I really wanted, now here." He tossed me a black scabbard and a long belt. "You can keep your sword in that, and that belt goes around your shoulder, not your waist. Now go on.." I equipped the sword and found it was a comfortable weight on my back.

With that I took my leave, I would always remember that old man's kindness. As I strolled down the village and back to the inn I was staying at I couldn't help but admire how nice the night was.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to all the people followed and favorited this story, it means alot. Oh and this is the first long chapter I ever write, so yeah... :P


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

One month had passed since the death game had started and we, the players were making steady progress. We were close to finding the boss room and taking on the first floor boss and moving on to the next floor. Of course I had nothing to do with this as I spent most of my time exploring. Currently I was on a personal quest to upgrade my blade; I had currently advanced my sword three times. It was now [2S1Q], and I was going after the materials I needed to upgrade it again.

I needed five [Dire-Wolf Claw], six [Kobold Club] and four [Beetle Horns]. The claws and horns I already had, and I was finishing up [Kobold Club], only 2 left. Kobolds were humanoid lizards that fought with different weapons depending on what type of Kobold they were. The Kobold I was fighting right now was the [Wild Kobold] and they fought with, you guess it, wooden clubs. The only trouble was that they wore armor, not real armor, but enough that just attacking them normally made it difficult to kill them.

Right now I was fighting two Kobolds off. This was a problem because I couldn't use a [Sword Skill] to take one out or the other would wail on me during the lag, so I was forced to play defensively. The first Kobold came at me and I used my sword to block off his club but now the second Kobold was coming in from the right, ready with a [Sword Skill]. I punched the Kobold in front of me; it did almost no damage but it did the trick as it left him stunned for a second. I spun around him and grabbed him from behind, using him as a shield to block the others attacks. The Kobold number 2 struck Kobold number 1, killing him, and giving me another [Kobold Club] but more importantly leaving himself open to a counter. I slashed at him twice, then I took my sword through him, taking him out and obtaining the last [Kobold Club] I needed.

As I left the dungeon I thought about all that had happened these last four weeks.

* * *

2000 people had died, if we kept up that pace we wouldn't live to see the New Year. The clearers that survived were making progress though and I was still exploring me new home, or prison, depending on your point of view. Most of the 2000 people that had died had perished during the first few days, maybe into the second week at most. They were all reckless, like me that first day. Sadly my worst day in Aincrad so far wasn't that first one.

The worst day I had in Aincrad was a few days after I had obtained my [Dacian Blade]. The day just after I had acquired my sword was the day the first players had arrived. I got along fine with most of them, I even met Klein and his group; he had managed to get them all safely across the field and, apparently, taught them how to defend themselves. It was towards the end of the day that things got bad.

Some spiky haired idiot came up and started to ask me about my sword. He said no one had seen a weapon like that and that he wanted it. I told him about the quest that the shop owner had given and he seemed content with that, but I couldn't help notice that he kept looking back suspiciously as he walked away. I didn't think much of it but when I got up the next morning I really regreted telling him about the old man.

I was walking towards the plaza when this idiot comes up and starts screaming. Something about how there was no quest and that the old man didn't offer to make a sword. I tried to tell him that maybe it was just a one time quest and he got even angrier at that. He stared accusing me of being a beta-tester; apparently all them had run out of the [Town of Beginnings] and started to move further ahead. I completely ignored him after he didn't believe me. My mistake.

When I got back from the field a crowd was grouped up in front of the village and the idiot was at the head. He told me that they wouldn't allow a filthy beta-tester to stay in the same village as the rest of the hard working players and he threw me out. He THREW me out. I swore that if I ever ran into that guy again I would kick his ass. I was forced to move on, avoiding most people and going alone into the field; I could appreciate the irony of this as I had stayed in [Horunka] to find someone to party with.

After this experience I stayed ahead of most players, it wasn't so much I avoided them but when a town started fill with clearers I moved out in search of the next town or village so that I wouldn't run into more idiotic people like that spiky hair. I spent most of my time searching the area, I mapped most of the woods and terrain that the clearers weren't interested in, information brokers paid me a lot of Col for those maps, but I normally gave them away to people if they didn't offer me money straight up.

During these searches I found a lot of treasure, unfortunately almost none of it was useful to me so I ended up selling it to merchants. One day I was on my way to sell the items to an NPC shop, but then I saw a man console a player who had just been scammed. He warned the young man and gave him a matching set of equipment he had lost. I thought that this man would be a better choice then some normal NPC. I sold almost all of the items I had gotten to him. I discovered that his name was Egil and I decided I would sell any rare items I found to him.

As for me I had grow in strength. I was currently level seven, and I had acquired a new skill slot. I had chosen to use the skill [Parry]. It allowed me to block a monsters attack if I hit their weapon with an attack of my own, of course my attack had to be stronger then theirs. I was still using my [Dacian Blade] and my armor was now a [White Leather Jacket] I had found in one of my searches of the woods.

After that I made it to a town called [Tolbana], here I discovered the upgrade system. It had been in place at most of the places with an armory but I had my [Dacian Blade] so I hadn't noticed. The reason I noticed it was because my blade had grown weak, and it was close to breaking so I took it to the blacksmith for repairs. I went to the armory and after I repaired my blade I noticed the upgrade option.

From what I had learned the upgrade system in SAO was simpler then most games. You could upgrade your weapon in 5 categories. These were Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness, and Durability. Sharpness, Accuracy and Quickness were basically battle stats affecting how strong, precise and fast your sword was respectively. Heaviness increased your blades weight, I personally found this to be a useless upgrade but some people liked heavier swords. Finally Durability increased how long your sword would last without repairs. Since it would take to long to say how and were your had been upgraded there was a simple system to say what had been increased. My [Dacian Blade] for example was [2S1Q], in other words, it had been upgraded in Sharpness twice and once in quickness. I was currently looking to upgrade it again.

It was this that had me led me out into field.

* * *

Before I knew it I was back at [Tolbana], the biggest town on the first floor excluding the [Town of Beginnings], and my current home. I walked towards the best NPC blacksmith I knew, there weren't any player smiths that could upgrade right now. After I passed him all the materials and the Col necessary he threw them into the flames, just like the old man had done.

"What do you wish to upgrade?" he asked. I had considered this on my way over here and I had decided that instead of going for another Quickness upgrade I should upgrade Durability so that I wouldn't need to come and repair it so often. My [Dacian Blade] was strong, but it wouldn't last long at the pace I was fighting.

"Durability." The NPC nodded and changed some of the options on the furnace, causing the flames to turn a dark red. He took my sword with some tongs and placed it inside the fire. After a few seconds the blade started to glow the same shade of red as the flames. At that time he took it out of the flames and placed it upon his anvil. After striking it ten times he shoved it into a bucket of water and looked happily up at me. The upgrade had been a success.

"Thank you very much." I said and I took my leave of the shop. As I walked down the street I noticed a sign stuck to a post next to the inn I was staying at.

**[Player Meeting tomorrow at 3:00pm in the Square]**

**[Organizing of the first boss battle]**

_So the clearers had finally found the [Boss Room]. _

I decided that I would go to this meeting. If we had any actual chance of taking out the boss I would help. If not I would try to talk them out of it. We couldn't afford to lose most of the people interested in clearing the game just because we took on a boss too early.

* * *

The town square was more of a stage than a plaza. It was basically a platform surrounded with stairs in every direction. When I had arrived at the meeting it had already started, and a blue haired man was telling everyone how his party had found the boss room. I looked around and I saw at least forty people. I recognized some of them from the field, but none of them stood out much. Still, with forty people we should be able to do this.

_It looks like we might have a shot after all._ I turned back to the blue haired man; he was giving some speech about how we top players had to help clear the floors to set an example to the others. I knew he was trying to ease into the topic but he wasn't doing a very good job in my opinion, although a lot of other people seemed very taken in by this guy.

_Why don't you just tell us when we should take on the boss? That's the point of this meeting right?_ Eventually he said that his party had found the boss room and that he wanted the help of the people here to take it out.

"Wait a minute, Knight-san".

_Why knight-san? Hey… wait a minute… I know that voice… oh no… _I looked up and saw that same spiky haired idiot that drove me out of [Horunka] leap down from the stairs like he was all important.

"Before that, there is one thing that must be cleared up; otherwise I cannot join you."

"All opinions are welcome. But please give your name first." Well at least this Knight-san listened to others… that was a good sign.

"My name is Kibaou." He started to look around the stairs, stopping at the face a certain black haired swordsman I now recognized as Kirito. I stared at him but apparently he didn't see or recognize me.

"In this group, about 5 or 10 people need to apologize." Knight-san looked confused.

"Apologize? To whom?"

"To the two thousand people who died. These people left the [Town of Beginnings] as soon as Kayaba gave his message, leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves."

_Oh, so this guy still hates Beta-Testers huh? _I started to look around the crowd and I sadly saw that, just like his hate, this guy's talent for making others social pariahs hadn't just gone away. The crowd was looking restless and some of them had started to look for people that they suspected were Beta-Testers.

"You mean the Beta-Testers right?" A big black man I recognized as Egil stood up. Apparently Kibaou hadn't expected anyone to challenge him, as he was starting to look a bit shaken. He probably thought that everyone should hate them, too lazy to do anything himself.

"Th-That's right. They left us in the [Town of Beginnings], used the best grinding spots and grabbed the best quests for themselves!"

"So you didn't receive this book at the beginning of the game?" he took a blue book with a little mouse icon I recognized as the guide book that helped me the first day I was here.

"Yes I did. Could you get to the point already?"

"And even if you lost it, is it not true that is was sold at every shop you visited for 0 Col?"

"Yes…" Kibaou still looked confused.

_Oh I see were this is going. Poor Kibaou. _I understood what Egil was getting at, Kibaou's argument was about to be blow to pieces.

"Now if you look closely it says: Made from the information taken from the beta test and published by a select group of testers. Do you still think the testers did nothing for us?" Egil had destroyed Kibaou's argument; in that little book there was information about most of the quests that you could find on the first floor, plus an explanation about almost every gameplay mechanic you would need.

Kibaou's face was priceless, he was shocked and it showed, at least for a few seconds, before he regained his composure. He looked as if he wanted to say something but he never did. Eventually Egil sat down and Knight-san came to speak to Kibaou.

"Kibaou, I understand your point. But we need the Beta-Testers. We need the testers strength. If we go and fight without them, then we will most likely lose."

I looked around and saw Kirito give a sigh of relief.

_So he really is a tester. _I suspected he was since he knew of the village and was strong enough to get here before anyone else did. He did help me in the beginning though, so I knew that was proof enough that Beta-Testers weren't bad people.

"Alright, but as soon as the boss fight is done I want this to be resolved." He went and sat down.

"Now Egil-san thank you for bringing up that book, as it happens it has a section about the first floor boss. According to what it says here the boss is [Ilfang the Kobold Lord], it uses a [Bone Ax] and has 4 Hp bars. Once its Hp reaches the final bar, it takes out a sword called a [Talwar]. It also has servants called [Ruin Kobold Sentinel]. Seven of these appear at the beginning of the fight, and each time we lower the bosses life by a full bar. I believe we should divide into groups for each task and meet again tomorrow here. Any objections?" No one had any, so we started to separate into different groups. Sadly thanks to Kibaou's little stunt back at [Horunka] I knew very little people who would party with me. As such I went to Kirito, he was paired with another lone player.

"Remember me?" I said as I came up. Kirito looked at me for a while before actually remembering me.

"You're the idiot I met the first day. Kuroh right?"

"Yeah, oh and thanks again for that." I said.

"So you don't have a party either?"

"Kibaou accused me of being a Beta-Tester in [Horunka], normally it wouldn't matter but thanks to that scene earlier everyone is suspicious. Fortunately it looks like he didn't recognize me. The only other group that isn't full is his so… here I am."

"Good to have you. Oh this is Asuna, she is the other member of our group." He introduced the other member of our party. I couldn't see much of her. She was tall for a girl, about the same height as Kirito, but she had most of her face covered by a cloak.

_Maybe Kirito is just short..._

"Hello." I said kindly. She just replied with a curt nod. Guess she doesn't talk much.

"Sorry, she's a bit shy." Kirito assured me.

After a while Knight-san, according to Kirito his name was Diabel but I like Knight-san better, came up and told us we were Group E. The Groups were ordered by what their function was. Group A and B was a made up of bunch of tanks, tasked with taking most of the damage. Groups C was a back-up group, if group A or B lost too much Hp they would step in while the other recovered. Group D was charged with taking out the Kobolds. Group E was basically the "Don't get in our way group", our official task was to help group D.

"Do your best to keep the Kobolds off us." He said as he left to see to his own group.

We started to decide our strategy and we settled on this: Kirito and I would stun the Kobolds with any [Sword Skill] and Asuna would finish them off with her [Linear]. Kirito also explained how the [Ruin Sentinel Kobolds] fought. Some of them used axes and the others swords, but they all had the same pattern; they would come at you fast and try to kill you with a [Sword Skill], that was your chance to stun it and have Asuna take it out. Since there was only one finisher and two stunners Kirito told me that we might be fighting the Sentinels alone for most of the battle. I assured him it didn't matter, I was a solo, just like him. While Kirito explained how to attack the armored Kobolds to Asuna I watched the other groups. Diabel was in charge of Group A, and Egil of Group C. I didn't recognize the leader of Group B. From the looks of it he was a [Two-Handed Sword] user, I personally didn't like those weapons too slow for me, but he looked capable enough; his entire group seemed to trust him. Finally Group D was led by Kibaou and to my greatest displeasure I saw he was coming this way.

"Kirito…" I signaled to the unofficial leader of our group he should talk to Kibaou. Meanwhile I turned my back and acted like I was very interested in the weapon shop just behind the plaza.

"So you're the rejects who got Group E, don't worry about fighting, my group will take out any Kobolds that come towards us." I was already fed up with this guys attitude, and for him to come over here just to insult us... I was mad.

"Hello Kibaou." Again his face was priceless.

"You...! You're that Beta-Tester… What're you doing here!?"

"Well, obviously I'm here to take out the boss … I can't imagine some idiot like you managing it. Oh and don't worry about those Kobolds, I doubt there will be any left for you anyway." If this guy wanted to think I was a Beta-Tester let him. I doubt anyone else will care. "Now run off, you better go tell your group that they won't need to fight tomorrow." Kibaou left fuming and was probably about to rat me out when Diabel started to speak.

"Players! We will meet here tomorrow and go to the boss room all together. I only have one thing left to say, Let's Win!" The crowd cheered. It appears Knight-san was a good leader; at least he had the charisma to lead a crowd. I hoped he wouldn't turn out to be some idiot, the clearers needed a leader and it looked like most of them accepted this guy. I then noticed that Kibaou was running towards Diabel, probably to rat me out. I quickly said my goodbyes to Asuna and Kirito and I sped away before Kibaou could point me out, I might not think someone would believe him but I still preferred not to risk it.

* * *

We all showed up at the meeting place the next day, including Kibaou sadly, and we formed up in line to go to the boss room. The path was clear of enemies or at least, it was for us. Group E was at the end of the march, and we didn't see any monsters. When we finally arrived at the boss room Diabel opened the doors as the leader of Group A.

As we entered the room Kirito came up to me.

"Remember; stun the Kobolds by hitting their weapons with a sword skill. When they are stunned, Asuna will yell switch. Then…"

"I jump back and Asuna kills it with a [Linear], I know the strategy. I also remember that if Asuna isn't around I should keep the Kobold busy. Don't worry, I got this." We went into the room.

The room itself was rectangular, almost like a grand hall. It was faintly lit by small lambs that burned with blue fire. At the end of the hall there was a giant throne and on it, a huge red Kobold, [Ilfang the Kobold Lord]. I was huge. Twice the size of the [Alpha Wolf], and its weapon the [Bone Ax] was at least as tall as me. The [Talwar] that hung at its side was impressive as well; it was at least the length of 3 people.

Group A, B and C went on to take him, while Group D and ourselves stayed to take on the [Ruin Kobold Sentinel] that had appeared behind us. Kirito and I dashed up to the Sentinels with Asuna behind us. I took on one while Asuna and Kirito double teamed the other. Kirito was stronger than he looked; the first sentinel couldn't even stand up to him, falling to his first strike. The second was stunned and left to Asuna. She went for the small opening in his armor with amazing precision, and with that two Kobolds were down. I was busy dealing with my own Kobold, they were stronger then they looked, and this one was holding its own. I spun around it and managed to take it out by using [Horizontal], a new [Sword Skill] I had earned by leveling up [One handed Swords]. I slashed at his back and cut him in two.

Another Sentinel came towards me and this time Asuna wasn't busy. I stunned the Sentinel with another [Horizontal] and switched with Asuna who took him out with the same incredible precision she had shown earlier. We took out 4 of the Sentinels, and when I looked around I saw Kibaou's group was still dealing with the three that were left.

_So we shouldn't worry about the Sentinels?_

* * *

The rest of the battle we didn't have much to do. Group A and B were successful at taking out the Kobold Kings Hp, and after the first bar was gone more Sentinels showed up but we took care of them as easily as the first wave. By that point Group A and Group B were low on health so Group C, led by Egil, started to attack the boss while the other two groups recovered health. Group D on the other hand was doing a spectacular job of not getting in our way, taking out one or two Sentinels each wave. However when Ilfang's second bar of health had been cleared there was trouble.

Kibaou had been cornered by 2 Sentinels, the rest of his group had decided it wanted a moment in the spotlight and was currently taking on 3 of the monsters at the same time. Kirito and Asuna were busy with their own Kobolds so I had to go over and save him. The first one fell easily, he didn't notice me, so I only had to use a [Sword Skill] to finish him.

"What are you doing?!" _Oh this guy is an idiot._

"What's it look like I'm saving you, you idiot!" I shouted as I went toe to toe with the second Sentinel. He managed to block my attack and Kibaou, being the idiot that he was, didn't even think to help me. Instead the idiot got up and started, sorry I should've said tried, to fight the Sentinel on his own, blocking several chances I had to finish it. After a while I was too mad to handle Kibaou and the Kobold at the same time, so I walked away. Sadly I tuned around to see that the Sentinel was overpowering Kibaou.

_Oh you have got to be kidding me…_ I ran over and tripped the idiot so that he wouldn't get in my way. The Kobold obviously went and tried to kill Kibaou, but I was too fast for it. I used my sword to block its own and then I used my free hand to push it away. Kirito and Asuna had finished their Sentinels so I signaled for Asuna.

"Switch!" I yelled as I used the skill [Horizontal] to stun the Kobold. Asuna flew in and used [Linear] on the monster and it was done.

"Why'd you do that!? I had him right where I wanted him."

"Sure, you go on thinking that." I left and went back to waiting for more Sentinels to show up.

* * *

After a while Diabels group succeeded in taking out Ilfang's third Hp bar, and Ilfang started to draw its [Talwar]. It would be invincible for a few seconds so the plan now was to take out the Sentinels and join the main battle; we would take out as much Hp as we could and fall back before our health entered the yellow zone. However something happened. I glanced over at Kirito and Asuna to signal the final wave of Sentinels but…

_What's wrong? _Kiritos face was odd. He looked as if he was thinking so many things at once that he couldn't do anything else. He was also staring at Ilfang's weapon.

"It's coming!" Asuna pointed to the last wave of Sentinels and Kirito snapped out of it. He used a [Sword Skill] on the Kobold so I figured that whatever had happened was nothing. I took care of a Sentinel and signaled for Asuna to come and finish it off. In those few moments we had taken out our share of the Sentinels and Group D was handling the others, but suddenly that look returned to Kiritos face.

"… No! Fall back now!" He screamed but just as he warned the others Ilfang leapt up into the air. Its [Talwar] started to glow red and when it crashed down to the earth the energy was released as a beam of light. It hit group A and took out at least half of all their health. Many people also had yellow orbs spinning over their heads; they were stunned. But Ilfang wasn't done, he launched a single player, Knight-san our leader, into the air. He started to unleash a barrage of blows mid air, Diabels Hp was quickly fading away.

"Kirito!" I signaled at Diabel and hoped Kirito understood. I was close enough that I could reach Diabel and block Ilfang's attack. I ran towards Ilfang and leapt up with my blade already glowing from another new skill, [Vertical]. I clashed blades with Ilfang, my intention was to use my [Parry] skill to block Ilfang's attack but he was too strong and I was thrown into the wall, I did however manage to hold him off long enough for Kirito to get there. While I was flying into the wall, he managed to make it over to Ilfang and stun him. He started to unleash savage blow after blow, drawing the boss's attention, but more importantly taking his attention off of Diabel.

I ran to check on our fallen leader, he was unconscious, probably the shock. I looked back at Kirito and saw that Asuna was fighting by his side. They were doing a lot of damage to Ilfang but all the other players seemed stunned to at what had happened to Diabel.

"Oi! Someone help me carry this guy!" I yelled at the crowd to come and help me out. Egil, the merchant I had met before, came over.

"Take him over to his group; see that they heal him up." I looked over and saw that Kirito and Asuna were holding their own but they wouldn't last much longer. I ran over to help them when I remembered something important.

"Egil! You're in charge of group C right? Get them over there to help those two take on the boss!" I yelled back at the axe wielding merchant.

"OK!" He yelled back. I reached the boss just in time. Asuna was fighting of Ilfang alone, Kirito had been knocked back by boss. She managed to hit Ilfang and I got there just in time to parry his attack with my [Dacian Blade]. Just then Group C arrived letting Kirito and Asuna take a break.

"His weapon isn't a [Talwar], it a [Nodaichi]." Kirito explained as he backed off the boss to recover. "It a whole different attack pattern then what the [Talwar] had, including an area attack that effects a 5 foot radius around him, so don't surround him or he'll activate it. I'll signal you when he is about to use a skill." The little black haired swordsman started to give orders, effectively becoming our new leader while Knight-san recovered.

I was at the front, dealing damage to Ilfang whenever I could and block his attacks when I could. He hit like a beast, I would've been knocked back again if there hadn't been ten other players fighting beside me and keeping him occupied. Only once did I have to fall back, Ilfang had driven me into the yellow zone with one brutal attack directed at Asuna. Eventually we managed to drive his health into the red zone and then Kirito struck.

He ran up to Ilfang, Asuna right behind him, and both unleashed a flurry of attacks. Asuna managed to take several stabs at Ilfang, and Kirito unleashed a 3 hit combo on him. When his life was down to the last point Kiritos blade started to glow blue. I recognized the skill [Slant] as he dashed past the Kobold King, tearing a huge gash across his side and taking the last of his Hp. Ilfang quivered for a moment, before finally exploding into shards like the rest of the monsters we faced.

There was a moment of silence. Then…

"We did it!" I yelled, as the others realized what we had accomplished and reacted as well, the air was filled with yells of victory and celebration.

Players went and hugged each other, celebrating that we had cleared the first floor.

Then Kibaou opened his big mouth.

"Idiot Beta-Tester! You almost got Diabel killed!" I was speechless, I just couldn't believe it, he was blaming Kirito for Diabel getting hurt, when he was the one who saved him? It was too much; I snapped.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? That guy is the reason we're all alive and you want to blame him because Diabel got caught in the bosses attack? He's the one who saved Diabel, and probably all of you when he and Asuna took on Ilfang by themselves." I screamed at the idiot, I had saved his life and was seriously regretting that decision.

"But-but… he knew the bosses weapon, he's still a Beta-Tester!" This guy couldn't be that stupid.

"So what if he is? He had to go through the same problems we did to get here, you said that you hated Beta-Tester because they let those 2000 people die. Did you ever once consider that maybe there were Beta-Testers in those 2000 people? Or did you think that they were immune to the death penalty that we have to deal with? Probably more Beta-Testers died then normal player, one little change in the enemy and they are dead. They rely on the information they got in the beta to survive more then anyone, this battle proves that." I could have gone on for hours, this guy didn't even deserve to by here, then another player spoke up. I looked at this moron, he looked as if he was about to say something but someone else spoke up.

"Kibaou stop he's right." Diabel had woken up. He looked pained but alive and that's what mattered.

"If it hadn't been for this player I would be dead, it doesn't matter if he's a Beta-Tester, he still saved my life and probably the lives of everyone else here." He looked as though he wanted to say something else, but he never did. He got up and thanked Kirito for his brave actions.

With that Kibaou was forced to shut up and Kirito was shoved, literally shoved by me, into the center of the room and the spotlight. He was clearly uncomfortable but he still accepted the praise of his fellow players.

"Thanks but we should move on" he said after awhile. "The first town of every floor has a portal that we have to activate for the rest of the players to be able to move on." Kirito directed at the door and we moved on to the first town [Urbus].

* * *

When we reached [Urbus] Kirito activated the portal and was received with cheers and applause. After the portal had been opened I started to walk away from the crowd and was on my way to explore the wonders of the second floor, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Kuroh wait, thanks for defending me in there. You ever need anything, just ask." He looked sincere. He was wearing a black coat now, I guess he got it for being the one who dealt the killing blow on Ilfang, he looked like my opposite all in black and me all in white. Just then a message appeared on my screen.

**[Friend Request from Kirito]**

**[Yes] [No]**

"Just returning the favor." I said with a smile. It was true; this guy had saved my life the first day I was here. I accepted his request and said my goodbyes. The next day I left the village, going off to see what the second floor held for me.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, here is the third chapter for "New World", thanks to the people that have followed this and a special thanks to Mzr90 for beta-ing this. Hope you like it please review.**

**Oh yeah someone asked me for character skills so here's Kuroh's skill at the moment.**

**[Level: 8]  
****[One Handed Sword] 19 (Knows [Slant], [Strike], [Horizontal] and [Vertical])  
****[Enemy Scanning] 15 (Current range 2 mt for enemies, 2.5 for players)  
****[Parry] 10**


End file.
